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Salary squeeze hits Thompson educators

With higher salaries available elsewhere, worries rise about 'brain drain'

By Alex Burness

Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Posted:
03/29/2014 12:07:11 PM MDT

During the public comment segment of the Thompson School District Board of Education's Feb. 19 meeting, teachers union president Laurie Shearer said teachers were feeling "hopeless." A month later, her findings haven't changed much.

"Teachers have asked me to publicize job fairs. That's the first time this has happened," she said. "I get calls every day asking how many years you need to work in Poudre, Greeley, Longmont."

The grass certainly would appear greener in those three districts, at least wage-wise. The base teacher salary in Thompson currently stands at $32,229 — the same place its been since 2008. Meanwhile, a teacher with the same credentials can earn more than $34,000 in St. Vrain and Poudre school districts, and close to $36,000 in Greeley-Evans School District 6.

The salary gap is much greater in the cases of more experienced educators, including Assistant Superintendent Mike Jones and Executive Director of Instruction Diane Lauer, who will be leaving the district in July for Littleton and St. Vrain, respectively. Cottonwood Plains Elementary Principal David Patterson is also on his way out, with another job lined up at Poudre's Beattie Elementary.

Patterson's departure will be partially offset by the addition of Poudre teacher Deon Davis, who on Friday was announced as the next principal of Coyote Ridge Elementary. Davis will replace the school's first and only principal, Diane Spearnak, who is retiring.

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According to Superintendent Stan Scheer, Lauer, Jones and Patterson "will definitely make more money than they will now." In all three cases, he said, the new jobs will pay between $10,000 and $25,000 more annually.

School board president Bob Kerrigan has said he'd like to increase wages, and several other board members have echoed that sentiment. More money, however, doesn't appear to be a complete solution

"Since I have been on the board, the board has voted for salary increases every year," Kerrigan said. "While at the same time achievement is declining, and every year teacher morale is down even more than the year before. So to say more money is a solution, it has not addressed the morale issue and it has not improved student achievement. That is not to say everyone is not working hard, they are and I know that. But are we working on the right areas?"

Kerrigan added that he'd like to hear the concerns of teachers and other district staff, and said he'd also welcome possible solutions.

According to Shearer, two of Thompson teachers' main sources of stress are standardized tests and newly mandated teacher effectiveness models, both of which are viewed by many as unreliable measures.

"When I said teachers were feeling hopeless in their jobs, it's because of all the mandates," she said. "And then you add in a board that tells them they're failing. It's extremely frustrating. They're working very, very hard, and they don't see their students failing. They see them growing. They take it very personally."

Coupled with an upcoming curriculum overhaul, plus a district-wide shortage of funding for school counselors and behavior programs, and the district's subpar test scores, Shearer said, don't begin to tell the whole story.

"We make them the end-all-be-all, when there's so much more."

The union and the board are currently negotiating salaries, and Shearer says her side has asked for a 2.5 percent raise across the map. Whether or not that wish is ultimately granted, the district may soon be facing more departed staff than it'd like.

"Every job will be filled come fall, but will it be the same caliber and the same experience that we've had in the past?" she said. "My gut feeling is we'll get a lot of brand new teachers. You really need to have a good balance of new and seasoned, and I see us getting more and more out of balance."

Kerrigan said he's already given thought to that possibility.

"I think this board is very interested in addressing first years, two- and three-year teachers," he said. "That is the future of the district. You have to ask, when you have limited funds, how can you address the salary ranges across the board?"

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